Perfect Remains

Summary

The first in a nail-shredding new crime series. Fans of M.J. Arlidge will be gripped from start to finish.On a remote Highland mountain, the body of Elaine Buxton is burning. All that will be left to identify the respected lawyer are her teeth and a fragment of clothing.In the concealed back room of a house in Edinburgh, the real Elaine Buxton screams into the darkness.Detective Inspector Luc Callanach has barely set foot in his new office when Elaine’s missing persons case is escalated to a murder investigation. Having left behind a promising career at Interpol, he’s eager to prove himself to his new team. But Edinburgh, he discovers, is a long way from Lyon, and Elaine’s killer has covered his tracks with meticulous care.It’s not long before another successful woman is abducted from her doorstep, and Callanach finds himself in a race against the clock. Or so he believes … The real fate of the women will prove more twisted than he could have ever imagined.Fans of Angela Marson, Mark Billingham and M. J. Aldridge will be gripped by this chilling journey into the mind of a troubled killer.

Reviews

Gripping Edinburgh thriller pitting DI Luc Callanach against a clever ruthless killer. Luc has just moved from Lyon with Interpol under difficult personal circumstances to take a post with Police Scotland and his first case proves challenging. Authentic Edinburgh locations add atmosphere and interesting characters populate the story.

I read crime stories for enjoyment. I may learn the odd nugget of wisdom, but it is not the overriding reason that I read them.This book is heralded as the first in a series of DI Luc Callanach tales. The first book will often be a bit clunky because every character needs to be introduced and turned into a rounded human being within a couple of pages so, I forgave the standard flawed detective, with a secret which I predict is to be released to us by the fifth, or sixth instalment.The crime was pretty grisly, but then, it is getting harder to grab attention and a bit of shock may be used to grip an audience. My departure from this book was around fifty pages in. A lady lawyer has been kidnapped and is being held by an unstable hostage taker. He has knocked her teeth out so that he can make a prostitute's body appear to be that of the lawyer, after he has set it ablaze. I told you that it was rough stuff. Now, we get pages of the kidnapper torturing the lady. This is too much. If you enjoy reading this, there is something wrong with you and, if you don't, I suggest that you do what I did and put the book down.Realism is one thing: this is ghoulish voyeurism of a totally unacceptable kind. I shall not be looking for the second book in the series.

Perfect Remains caught my eye for two reasons. One is that it is set in Scotland, one of my favourite places and the other is that it has an unusual premise, in that a woman is murdered and her body found, and yet miles away she screams in a hidden room. Intriguing, right?What I wasn't expecting was a very attractive French policeman as the main character (and my latest book crush). DI Luc Callanach is damaged but strong and hugely likeable. He's actually half-Scottish but isn't all that happy to find himself in a country that doesn't have quite the style that France does.This is not the most fast-paced thriller although it does move along really well. What it is is a well-written police procedural with a twisted killer at its heart. I did cringe a few times at the things that were happening. There were some very gruesome and graphic parts but the fact that they made me feel like that shows that they were portrayed well. It may not be everybody's cup of tea but if you can stomach it then this is a really excellent read. It's definitely not for anybody who is afraid of going to the dentists! I shall say no more.....Running alongside the main plot of the strong women who go missing is DI Ava Turner's story about abandoned babies. I liked Ava a lot and think she and Luc will go far as characters in the series. This book also introduced a number of other characters who I think will pop up in the future such as Ava's friend, Natasha Forge, and Luc's colleagues at the police station.This is a book that has a humdinger of a storyline and it kept me interested all the way through. We know from the beginning who the killer is and I thought it was clever that we witnessed the cat and mouse chase from both points of view.Helen Fields is certainly a new crime author to watch and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens to Luc and Ava next.

This is a great thriller to read, a chilling story and a villain that could give you nightmares. I had to skip some parts because the killer was so well written, that even his thinking was scaring me enough to skip (gruesome).

Maybe this book should be categorized “horror” because of the killer’s cruelty. If it’s just too much for you, you could skip the parts where the killer becomes the narrator or when it starts to get explicit (like I did) and you will still be able to enjoy the story, from the perspective of the investigators.

Again, if you like readings thrillers you will love this book. The cops are wonderfully done, the parallel stories are also very well done so hats off!

Some books leave you feeling warm & fuzzy, some leave you sad or thoughtful. This book left me with palpitations & an irrational fear of dentures.Elaine Buxton is having a really bad day. You’d think being abducted by a mad man would be your worst nightmare come true. Wrong. Unfortunately he has a few…um…procedures planned as part of his scheme to convince everyone she is dead.Luc Callanach is having a marginally better day. He recently left a job with Interpol under a cloud & has surfaced as a DI in Edinburgh. Rumours are swirling & he’s not exactly being embraced by his new team. The fact that he doesn’t want to be there is not helping. He’s called about a body found in a burned out bothy in the Caimgorms. It’s not his jurisdiction but there’s a chance it could be missing Edinburgh lawyer Elaine Buxton. They can’t know it yet but he & his team are about to come up against a devious & meticulous killer. More women will be taken & more will die as the killer hides in plain sight. We know his identity early on & he’s just one the characters who take turns narrating the story. Others include members of Luc’s squad & his colleague DI Ava Turner. She’s a smart, hard working cop & one of the few to reach out & welcome Luc to the force. Initially he rebuffs her friendship but as the story progresses her warm & straight forward manner begins to thaw his cool, prickly demeanour. She’s got a difficult investigation of her own concerning abandoned babies & they bounce ideas off each other as they struggle to crack the cases.So here’s the heads up. This is not for the faint of heart. Our killer is one of the most frightening you’ll come across in fiction & there are some gruesome scenes. What elevates this book above others in the genre is smooth, self assured prose & the depth of the characters. Dialogue is crisp & lean & I particularly enjoyed the rapport between Ava & Luc. No worries….you won’t find any cheesy insta-lust scenarios here. These are mature, well defined characters who gradually forge a friendship based on commonality & mutual respect. Ava sparkles with intelligence & wit & I enjoyed her ability to loosen up the tightly wound Luc. Their conversations are full of welcome humour that helps balance out the rising tension surrounding the fate of the abducted women.There are plenty of side stories dealing with Luc’s past & other characters that keep this ticking along at a steady pace until you hit the 3/4 mark. Then it becomes a sprint to the finish. It’s flat out addictive, one of those books you really resent having to put down & I stayed up waaay too late simply because I had to know how it ended (just ask coworkers who had to deal with my cranky self the next day). If you like your thrillers scary & smart, this is a stand out entry in grit-lit. Can’t wait for “Perfect Prey” due out in late June which gives me time to get over….you know…the denture thing.